


Baby Mama Stephen Strange

by Insert_witty_username



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Doctor Strange (Comics)
Genre: Baby Dragon, Dragon AU, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Slice of Life, Stephen is a mama, merry fic-mas, the dragon is SO CUTE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insert_witty_username/pseuds/Insert_witty_username
Summary: One day, Stephen stumbles upon a dragon egg unattended in a cave. While searching for a home, he accidentally hatches the egg, making his life as a dragon mama just a little bit more difficult and a whole lot cuter.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	Baby Mama Stephen Strange

“What the fuck are we going to do with it?”

“Well, we need to find it a new home. Preferably before it hatches.”

“How? Should I take out an ad in the paper?” Stephen asked, voice dripping sarcasm.

“No you idiot, contact your mystical sources. See if one of them can take it in. God knows they’re better equipped to deal with it than we are,” Wong huffed.

Stephen sighed. The egg on the table glistened blue-green, the scales shining, almost moving with light. It was about the size of a small cat and lighter than Stephen had expected. It was beautiful. He was glad he had found it, all alone in a cave filled with treasures stolen by a barrage of evil goblins. Well, he hadn’t found it. The Cloak had. Stephen turned away, already trying to think of all the people or aliens he could ask to care for the egg.

“Fine. I’ll go make some calls.”

He started to march away when Wong stopped him with a withering glare.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Wong said, a smirk growing on his face.

“Huh?”

“It’s a  _ dragon _ egg. You need to incubate it. You need to keep it warm.”

Stephen sighed again.

“And how would you suggest I do that?”

“Well… you know those things mothers and fathers have that strap their baby to their chest?”

Stephen flushed.

“You’re not suggesting we buy-”  
“Oh no. Of course not. I would _never_. We don’t need to _buy_ one, the Cloak can just turn into it!”

Wong’s grin was downright evil. Stephen turned back to the egg and once again, sighed. The Cloak bobbed excitedly behind him.

And that’s how Stephen spent the day. Training new acolytes, calling old friends, and even contacting a few old enemies, all with the glowing dragon egg strapped to his front like a baby. It was… insufferable. He was a man of pride, and this was far from his image of the regal sorcerer that he liked to keep up. The acolytes all giggled and everyone he met with struggled to hold back a smile. And at the end of the day, there was no one to take the egg. Not Thor, not his ex-wife Clea, not even Jericho Drumm. The search felt… hopeless. But he couldn’t keep a dragon. He couldn’t.

Stephen curled up in the library by the fire with a hot cup of tea, as many books on dragons as he could find (even a few self-indulgent fantasy novels, but who was judging?), and the dragon egg, cradled safely and securely to his abdomen, warmth radiating between them. Stephen sighed, one shaking hand resting on the egg, the other turning the pages of his book. He had been trying to find exactly what species of dragon it was, but there wasn’t much to go off of. Just the egg’s general size, shape, and color. But that was nothing. There were thousands of species of dragons. Identifying it would be impossible.

Stephen let out a yawn. The cloak wrapped itself tighter around them, back in blanket form but keeping the egg held tight to Stephen’s body. Stephen lay his head back on the arm of the sofa. Maybe he could just close his eyes for a minute. One minute and then he’d go back to reading.

He very quickly and very easily dozed off, curled around the egg in his arms.

Stephen woke up to a stiff neck, the sounds of a faint crackling noise, and the low light of a dimming fire. Stephen sat up, eyes widening. He looked down frantically for the egg, panic racing through his mind. It couldn’t be hatching- it couldn’t! He didn’t know how to care for a baby dragon. And he didn’t have another home for it yet.

He looked to his lap and his stomach dropped. The last fragments of shell dropped away and a tiny little high-pitched trill rang out. A little tiny dragon- no bigger than a kitten- poked its head out, letting out little squeaks as it tried to open its eyes. Stephen immediately knew exactly what it was. He picked up a fragment of shell and held it up to the light of the fire. Just as he expected, the shell had changed from an icy blue to a hot purple and orange. He sighed, looking down at the dragon in his lap. He should have guessed. How else would the egg have survived so long in that cold cave?

He flicked his hands and floated the book he had been reading back to him, flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. The nhiệt độ. The dragons of fire and ice and everything in between. Their eggs were laid in the higher mountains, in the ice of the winter. Then, when the spring thawed them out, they drifted downriver until they reached the warm mudflats of the Mekong Delta where they stayed and hatched in the warmth of the sun.

Stephen sighed and brushed the remains of the shell to the ground, pulling the little dragon closer to him, watching as its scales turned from blue to pink in his hands. They changed with the temperature of contact. Stephen smiled, examining the little dragon. It was slender, a clear eastern-oriented dragon, with thin flowing fins and tiny little legs. It immediately curled around Stephen’s wrist, letting out tiny little delicate trills. It nuzzled him and finally its eyes opened, two twin pools of inky purple-black. Stephen smiled and sighed softly. There was no doubt that it was terribly cute. But one day it would be terribly big and Stephen wasn’t exactly keen on having a massive dragon stuffed into the sanctum. But right now… he yawned again and the dragon nuzzled him. Stephen smiled, watching as it yawned as well and curled up in a little ball in his lap, practically vibrating. Purring maybe. Stephen curled around the dragon and the cloak draped itself over both of them like a blanket. It was two AM and he was exhausted. He let his head fall back down to the couch arm and drifted off once more.

“What in the name of the Vishanti did you do Strange?!”

Stephen shot up, blinking blearily. He groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Wong? What? What are you talking about?” Stephen groaned. He shifted and sat up, rubbing his neck. He must have fallen asleep while he was reading.

Wong glared at him and pointed.

“Uh, that?”

Stephen looked down and a wave of emotions washed over him. The baby dragon was curled up in his lap, eyes closed, sleeping. It’s scales shone red from Stephen’s body heat. It’s eyes were beginning to open and it yawned, trilling softly.

“Well… you were the one who told me to keep it warm,” Stephen snapped.

The dragon blinked itself awake and let out a happy little chirp, immediately jumping and nuzzling Stephen before crawling up his arm and resting on his shoulders, purring. Wong’s eyebrows raised even further.

“I think our problems are only growing.” Wong sighed and turned away. “Keep looking for a new home for it. And find out what it eats. We don’t want a hungry dragon on our hands.”

Stephen sighed. The dragon nuzzled his cheek. Then licked him. Stephen looked over at it and offered it a little smile. The dragon chirped cheerily and grabbed his face in a little tiny hug. Stephen sighed, the dragon clinging to his face. Something in his heart twinged, a little tiny burst of warmth and protectiveness. Then his stomach growled. The dragon was a newborn. He needed to feed it and see what else it needed. He reached for his book and flipped it open. Pitaya, pomegranate, and… durians. Great, the most disgustingly odorous fruit in the world. And… chickens. Whole chickens. Stephen sighed. Perhaps he would be taking a little trip to East Asia today. And the supermarket.

After a little trip and some very disgusting smelling fruit, Stephen watched the little tiny dragon gnaw on a chicken leg bigger than itself. He smiled, watching. Well, it wasn’t like he had a choice. Whenever he looked away the dragon whimpered and stopped eating. It was so small, so little and feisty and cute… Stephen grit his teeth. It was a dragon. It wasn’t cute. Even if it was little. And sweet. And even if this species of dragon didn’t even get that big… no larger than a tiger. He couldn’t keep it. His line of work had no room for love. Or pets. Or dragons.

Stephen sighed and looked down at his list. The next step to care for the dragon was to gather a large amount of mud or grass… or in Stephen’s case, a large number of blankets, pillows, and heated blankets or heat lamps. He would probably have to sacrifice his bedroom. Vishanti knew Wong wouldn’t sacrifice his.

There was a sad little whimper and Stephen looked up from his list and back to the dragon. He smiled and reached down, stroking its scales with a trembling finger.

“I’m here, little one. I’m here.”

He did indeed end up sacrificing his bed to the dragon. Well, a small part. A tiny little nest on one half of the bed and a bundle of blankets for Stephen on the other. The dragon curled up in its little nest and purred happily. Stephen draped the heated blanket over it and smiled. He hoped the dragon was like a baby… babies slept a lot, right? As much as he wanted to ensure the dragon was well cared for and happy, he couldn’t just stop everything- his job was important. He had no room for slacking.

The dragon nuzzled his leg and he sighed, reaching out an absentminded, shaking hand to pet the dragon’s head. His hands ached as he flipped through the worn pages of the book and he sighed, wincing as he flexed his fingers.

Then the dragon nuzzled him, wrapping around his hand and reaching for his other. Stephen offered it a small smile, giving it both his hands. The dragon closed its eyes and Stephen watched as its scales shifted to a soft gold. Heat began to radiate from its body, a soft warmth that spread through Stephen’s aching hands. Stephen’s eyes widened, and he relaxed, smiling softly. The dragon looked up at him, almost as if searching for approval, and trilled happily at his smile. Stephen relaxed, cradling the dragon close, warmth soothing his aching bones.

That night Stephen settled the dragon into its little nest, petting it until its eyes closed. Then he lay back on his side of the bed, turning off the light and settling down. He let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes.

Not even a minute later he heard a tiny little high-pitched whimper and a spark of light flashed through the air, along with a dry gust of warm air. Stephen sat bolt upright, staring at the dragon as it huffed a tiny little flame. Stephen’s eyes widened and he lunged forwards, batting out the small fire started on his bedsheets. He rolled over and flicked the light back on.

“What was that for? What do you want?”

The dragon whimpered and shot out of its nest and curled up in Stephen’s arms. Stephen sighed and let his hands rest on the little dragon.

“You wish to sleep here?”

Stephen let out another sigh and reached for the heated blanket, pulling it over both of them. He turned off the light and curled up, the little dragon sleeping happily in his arms.

He awoke the next morning to his pillow being yanked out from under his head. Stephen groaned, covering his eyes. The Cloak loomed above him, practically fuming.

“What is it?”

The Cloak just glared at him, before yanking back the blankets. The dragon yipped and climbed up Stephen’s shoulders, resting around his neck. The Cloak shook, then shot forwards, trying to fix itself around Stephen’s neck. Stephen yelped, one hand batting at the cloak, the other cradling his dragon.

“What is your problem?!” Stephen snapped. The Cloak backed up and crossed its cloth. Stephen raised an eyebrow. “Are you  _ jealous _ ?” The Cloak shook its collar frantically and Stephen smirked. “Sure.” He looked down at the dragon and it nuzzled his cheek. “Look, you’re my artifact. You are dear to me. But we have to care for this dragon and make sure it’s safe and happy. So…” He sat up. “Turn back into the baby carrier? I have research to do.”

The cloak huffed but it wrapped itself around Stephen’s chest, forming a perfectly dragon-sized baby harness. Stephen smiled and plopped the dragon inside. It yipped and nuzzled his hand. Stephen’s heart swelled. Dear Vishanti it was cute.

Breakfast was… difficult. He had prepared the dragon a little plate of fruit and meat but all it seemed intent on was flopping in Stephen’s eggs and knocking over the salt and pepper shakers. The dragon yipped and dove into Stephen’s eggs. Stephen groaned and plucked it out, holding it like a mama cat holding its kitten for a scolding.

“You! Stop that!”

The dragon whimpered and pouted. Stephen sighed.

“Okay. Fine. Just… go eat your fruit.”

He set the dragon back down and it trilled and dove right back into his plate. Stephen groaned and rubbed his temples.

“How’s motherhood treating you?”

Wong was leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on his face.

“ _ Motherhood _ ?! Excuse me?!” Stephen choked, almost spilling his coffee.

“You know that’s exactly what it thinks you are, right? It thinks you’re its mama,” Wong snickered.

“It does not- Hey! Don’t eat that napkin!” Stephen cried, lunging forwards and pulling the dragon back to his chest. It chirped and nuzzled him. Wong’s laughter grew.

“Baby mama.”

Stephen glared at him.

“I am the Sorcerer Supreme how dare you-”

“Sorcerer Supreme my ass. The dragon loves you.” Wong’s voice softened. “It loves you. It needs you, Stephen. Have you found a home for it yet?”

“No. I can’t find anyone to take it.”

Stephen looked down at the dragon. It had rolled over, basking in a beam of sunshine. In that light, its scales shone like glass, shining and bright and shimmering as their colors changed with the temperature. It was beautiful. And sweet. And Stephen would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t love how it curled up with him as if hoping for a mama to protect it. He bit his lip. His life didn’t have room for dependency. He couldn’t love anyone. He couldn’t have any pets. What would happen if he didn’t come home one night? What would his pet think happened to him? Would they think he abandoned them? Stephen couldn’t stand even thinking about it. He had already let so many people in his life down. He couldn’t do the same to a creature as innocent and kind as this dragon.

“Stephen… I know what you’re thinking.” Wong sighed. “I know that your life is dangerous, but if you do this to yourself you’ll just shut yourself away from accomplishments and just wallow in loneliness. Besides, I swear on the Vishanti, if anything happens to you… I’ll take care of the dragon.”

“What are you saying?”

Wong sighed.

“This is probably against my better judgment… but… keep the dragon. It needs you, and honestly, you need it too. You’re so alone in life, Stephen. You need a companion.”

Stephen smiled.

“Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is so bloody cute I love it so much oh gosh its just so adorable I CANT-  
> Merry Christmas 🥺🥺🥺


End file.
